First-round pick? Patriots pass

FOXBORO -- The big party inside Gillette Stadium's Putnam Club turned out to be three hours of build-up to no first-round draft pick to celebrate.

Shortly after 11 p.m. Thursday, the Patriots traded the 29th overall selection in the NFL Draft to the Minnesota Vikings in exchange for four picks -- a second-rounder (52nd overall), third-rounder (83rd), fourth-rounder (102nd) and seventh-rounder (229th).

The Vikings used that 29th overall pick to select Tennessee wide receiver Cordarrelle Patterson. Wide receiver seems a Patriots need, but coach Bill Belichick perhaps believes that need will intersect value at the Patriots' first pick in the second round, No. 52.

The Patriots came into this 2013 draft with only five picks. Had it remained that way, it would have been the fewest number of picks in a draft in team history. New England now has eight picks -- including two picks in both the second and third rounds.

The NFL draft resumes Friday at 6:30 p.m. with rounds two and three. The final four rounds begin Saturday at noon.

Patriots owner Bob Kraft earlier seemed to be preparing for the possibility of no draft pick to celebrate on this night. He obviously knows Belichick is big on roster building.

Kraft suggested he was prepared to send revelers home until Friday's second round, secure in the knowledge that it was best for the football team.

I want whatever works to make our team better," Kraft said moments before the draft began at 8 p.m. with the Kansas City Chiefs selecting Central Michigan offensive tackle Eric Fisher.

Having gone 12-4, 13-3 and 14-2 the past three regular seasons -- and with an AFC title-game loss and Super Bowl loss the past two seasons -- Patriots' weaknesses tend to become overstated in relation to the competition.

Waiting for the Patriots not to pick on Thursday gave New England fans three hours to size up the competition in the AFC East. Chances are Tom Brady hates the Dolphins' draft. Miami traded with Oakland to move up to No. 3 and take Oregon defensive end Dion Jordan. Paired with Pro Bowler Cameron Wake, that is another Dolphin pouring off the edge at Brady two games a year.

Jordan's college production (5 sacks last year) doesn't seem quite up to the raves, however.

And as much as it kills Patriots fans, most probably admit things fell pretty nicely for the Jets. Alabama cornerback Dee Milliner was there at No. 9 overall, a convenient roster replacement for Darrelle Revis, traded to Tampa Bay on Sunday. And with the first-round pick the Jets acquired in that trade, they took Missouri defensive tackle Sheldon Richardson, a potential dominator who had 14 tackles and a sack against an Alabama offensive line that had a guard and tackle taken 10th and 11th overall on Thursday. Alabama did win the game, 42-10.

That other AFC team that perennially chokes on Patriots exhaust fumes, those quarterback-needy Buffalo Bills, traded down from No. 8 to No. 16 (with the Rams), where they apparently felt it was safe to pick Florida State QB EJ Manuel. Manuel is a 6-foot-5, 247-pounder with "franchise quarterback potential," with "potential" being the operative word.

He is considered a lot further away than many of the quarterbacks taken in recent first rounds. The Bills haven't been to the playoffs since 1999. So even though the Patriots made no pick Thursday night, it is still good to be a Patriots fan.

"I promise you that come Saturday night our team is going to be a lot better," Kraft told partygoers when the night started.

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